Last week, I had a slender lady come up to me and say “No matter what I do, I cannot gain a pound.’’ When I later saw her at lunch, she munched on brownies, potato chips and butter cookies. To most of us, being thin and eating anything we want would be a dream come true but to others, it can be a lifetime challenge. Having said that, snacking on heavy artery-clogging trans-fats or injecting steroids is not the answer. There really are healthy ways to gain weight! There are many causes to being under-weight. Some people are naturally thin and would like to be larger. People who are underweight complain of feeling frail, weak and not resistant to physical stresses. Common illnesses and chronic stress can also result in excessive weight loss as well. It is extremely important for women to have a healthy body weight to maintain hormonal balance and strong bones.
The foods you eat must supply you with much needed calories and give you all of the nutrients and phytochemicals that your body may have been missing for a while. In order to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you are currently taking in every day. You can also use an online calculator such as MyPyramid.gov to help you keep track. Be reminded that we expend at least 2000 calories to live and breath/per day…so recording and understanding calorie expenditure is important. Once you know how many calories you need to aim for each day, use a food diary to track your daily intake. This will also help remind you when it is time to eat. If you prefer to keep your food diary online, you can join Calorie Count Plus. This site is free and allows you to track the calories you take in as well as the calories you burn with exercise. It also rates your daily diet’s nutritional value.
Choosing Healthy Foods to Gain Weight
It is important to pick foods that are nutritious, especially if you are recovering from an illness or have been undernourished for a long time. There are easy ways of adding extra healthy calories to everyday meals:
- Add cheese, nuts and dressings made with olive, walnut or canola oil to salads
- Eat starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn more often
- Add brown rice or sweet potatoes to your meal
- Consume extra protein by adding chicken, turkey or beef
- Have oatmeal with added fresh or dried fruit for breakfast
- Go for dried fruits or fruit juices as healthy higher calorie snacks
- Spread Peanut butter on whole grain bread, apples or celery sticks to get a great source of protein and calories
- Stick with healthy desserts, such as a bowl of berries with whipped topping and lot of chopped nuts
- Spoon healthy homemade salad dressings on sandwiches and as a dip for vegetables
- Dip whole grain bread into olive oil, walnut oil or flax seed oil
- If you don’t care for much meat, add legumes such as black beans, kidney beans and pinto beans as protein sources
- Pick dark chocolate as a treat. Dark chocolate has antioxidants that other sweets don’t have
Carbohydrates
Your body needs carbohydrates for energy. Carbohydrates are the best fuel for your body, although your body can use fats and proteins for energy if necessary. Since you need to gain weight, you should make sure you get enough carbohydrates to fuel your body as well as add the nutrients you need. Your best sources of carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Fats and Oils
Healthy fats include the essential polyunsaturated omega-3 essential fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. You can only get these fats from your diet and they are important for healthy hair, skin, neurological functions. You want to add healthy fats to your diet by eating lots of fish, flax seeds and nuts. Avoid foods that contain large amounts of saturated fats and trans-fats. Red meat, processed lunch meats, hot dogs and sausage have all been connected with higher risks of diseases such as heart disease and some cancers. Avoid fried foods as well. Fried foods such as french fries, donuts and fried fish or chicken are sources of trans fats and not a healthy way to get the calories you need.
Proteins
The protein sources you choose are important too. Your body needs protein for muscle and organ structure and for normal immune system function. Your body also uses protein to make hormones and brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Healthy protein sources include poultry, fish, legumes, nuts and seeds. Red meat is OK once or twice each week, but red meat contains a lot of saturated fat. A diet high in saturated fat has been linked to cardiovascular disease. Processed meats like hot dogs, sausages, bologna and other lunch meats are high in calories, but also associated with higher risks of cancer.
Portions Sizes and Meals
You can either add more calories to you diet by eating more meals per day, by adding snacks and by increasing your portion sizes. If a large meal makes you feel stuffed and uncomfortable, eat small portions, but eat more often. You can add healthy snacks throughout the day.
Exercise to Gain Weight
Exercise is important for good health and the right type of exercise can help you gain muscle, which will give you more body mass. Weight-lifting exercises that are designed to build muscle should be included with your weight-gaining diet and perhaps aerobic exercise should be cut back a bit.
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For Questions/Advice and interest in personal training: ns@theartofbody.com / 08123 89 09 99
Natalie is an experienced professional in Fitness and Lifestyle Management. She studied Kinesiology in Canada, has Certification in Personal Training and is a Member of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. She is currently a Personal Trainer, Health Advisor and Lifestyle Consultant in Bali.
